[i-TRIXX] The Golden Mean in electronics

 A few weeks ago I was discussing the Golden Mean with several members of our lab staff. This ratio can be seen almost everywhere in the natural world and in art, but it seems almost entirely absent in electronics. This is both remarkable and puzzling because electronics is just as much part of the natural world, and subject to the laws of the natural world, as any other discipline – or at least it should be.

One of the solutions submitted for our resistor soccer ball puzzle (thank you Scott) may have triggered a paradigm shift in this area. Scott based his resistor ball calculations on the numerical value of the Golden Mean (1 + √ 5)/2), and what's more, he obtained the right answer. This sparked my curiosity, and hopefully it will spark yours as well.

What other examples of the Golden Mean can be found in electronics? Please send your suggestions to: theelectronicball@elektor.com, and I will select the most interesting ones for future iTRIXX items.